Huge congratulations on a fabulous debut, this one is beautifully written with heartfelt emotion and I felt pulled into the story from the start, the characters are easy to like and it was easy to feel their emotions throughout the story, take a trip back to 1944 to a small country farming town in South Australia and meet Poppy Guildford and JB Beaton and a cast of wonderful characters.

Poppy is a widowed mother of eight year old Glenn, times are hard at the moment with a war going on and Poppy is working really hard to keep the family farm going for her son, the pressure is on, there are talks with the bank but when she discovers a secret about her husband Poppy is stunned and this just causes more worry and stress, Poppy meets the new farmhand from her neighbour’s farm and the attraction is instant, is there a chance she could find love again? Poppy is strong but with her terrible Aunt Violet threatening her, her world is turning upside down.

JB Beaton has returned from the war injured both physically and mentally, he has a young son Lee who is five years old but he needs to take off and find himself, so he leaves Lee with his sister and finds himself working as a farmhand on a farm in the small town of Coyders Creek here he meets the beautiful widow Poppy and soon things are starting look better as he an Poppy get to know each other, but will small town gossip and Poppy’s aunt tear things apart?

This is a beautiful story filled with emotion, I loved meeting Poppy what a fabulous woman times were not easy for woman back then and Poppy was running the farm so well she stood her ground with all that was happing with a caring and loving heart and JB I felt so much for him, he had been through a lot and now it looks like he had found the happiness he so deserved, there are some wonderful characters that add to the story Walter, Ronnie and Charlie and even the horrible Aunt Violet played her part, I do highly recommend this one and am looking forward to many more stories from this new author.

My thanks to the publisher Escape and Netgalley for my copy to read and review.

In this. Nancy Cunningham’s debut novel, I’ve seen a fresh and different angle to Australia’s WWII experience. This story is a rural romance set in the fictional town of Goyder’s Creek, South Australia in the closing years of the war. Readers are given a good insight to small-town civilian life at that time, complete with rationing, Land Girls helping on the farms and, of course, the fact that everybody knows everybody else’s business. Poppy Guildford is a widow and has been managing the family farm since her husband’s death. I admired her strength of character, her kindness and her generosity, though I felt she was far too tolerant of her absolutely vile Aunt Violet. JB Beaton is a perfect match for Poppy. Having been discharged from the army because of wounds and a healthy dose of PTSD, he’s been an itinerant farm worker before arriving in Goyder’s Creek. It was clear that JB had some issues to overcome but equally clear that here was a hardworking man who was making something of himself. These two were great characters that were both easy to like and easy to cheer for. Their story flowed well, though there were a few instances that I struggled to believe. That said, this hs been an interesting and entertaining story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

My Review.
Such a poignant and atmospheric book, which takes us back to wartime Australia. It reminded me of the Australian TV show The Sullivans. Set in the era of austerity, of make do and mend, and far more conservative behaviour than we see today.
In a small town where everyone knows everyone Poppy Guilford is a topic of speculation. Surely, she can’t keep managing the farm on her own. The town has decided on a suitable candidate for Poppy.
Then, JB arrives to help on the farm. He admires Poppy’s handling of the responsibility and workload of the farm. He’s far from perfect and has his own demons. Yet he’s drawn to Poppy and she to him. Their relationship could be a small-town scandal.
I received an Advance Reader Copy through Net Galley

In this book, we follow the story of widower Poppy Guildford and the struggles she faces to keep her son and the farm together in the backdrop of World War II in Goyders Creek, South Australia.
She thought heartache was to be her life heightened by a tragic secret from her husband’s past, until she met former soldier JB Beaton whose personal scars and tragedy drew them closer as kindred spirits.
One of the things that I enjoyed was that the romance was a slow burn in line with the time period. There was the pent-up emotion that when finally released was truly cathartic and, in a word, authentic as the reason why they would be attracted to each other just made sense.
Poppy is stoic and always determined to do the right thing that made you want to root for her. I loved her sister-in-law, Ronnie, who despite all the emotional baggage she carried from her youth, always stood her ground and was willing to fight for her beliefs. Furthermore, I also respected JB. He took every punch life threw at him and made it work.
I highly recommend this book.

3.5 stars.
A historical romance set in a diverse, faraway scenery, “Crossing the Bridge”, by Nancy Cunningham, features leads struggling with personal issues, trying to improve their lives and getting quickly smitten with each other in a very natural way.
I liked the setting, Australia, such a different (from this reader’s perspective) and beautiful geography, and the romance, too. The vastness and differences within the country – the mangoes, both trivial and exotic – are immense.
Poppy is a multifaceted woman, managing the farm and garden, helping cows give birth, playing the piano, drawing, besides all the domestic tasks and raising her son.
JB is a great hero, quiet, capable, handsome, with a sense of humor. The wounds from a problematic childhood and from war (WW2) linger but he’s starting to heal in Goyders Creek.
They’re attracted to each other and acknowledge their feelings with openness and honesty; and I appreciated this.
I also liked the affection and love between relatives and friends and how they express these feelings. Poppy and Walter’s friendship despite his wishes is also refreshing.
There’s some melodrama and secrets involving children and a nasty relative that stretch the story a bit, and some understandable hesitation from both leads.
Sometimes I found the writing style a bit repetitive and felt the characters were talking and explaining things a little too much.

A beautiful debut from an exciting new author.

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book via NetGalley and I was captivated from the first page.

Told from both the perspectives of Poppy and JB, you quickly love both as they navigate their lives during WW2 in a small Austrian country town. Poppy is harbouring a huge secret while trying to keep her family and farm afloat and JB carries the scars of a soldier. It's these two characters, written in such a wonderful way, with strong voices, that you will be unable to put the story down.

Nancy's writing is easy to read whilst still being beautiful, funny and gut wrenching. I look forward to more from her!